An injunction has been issued against Wai Chong Chik for running an acupuncture clinic from his Colville Road home.
British Columbia’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice regulator is seeking a prison term for a Richmond acupuncturist for practicing without a license.
According to a civil contempt action launched in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on May 15, Wai Chong Chik was accused of “intentionally committing crimes for compensation” despite a court order in 2016 prohibiting him from doing so. continued to provide Chinese medicine/acupuncture services.”
The lawsuit was initiated by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Physicians and Acupuncturists of British Columbia, which was established to regulate the practice of TCM.
This is the second time the university has sought a contempt finding against Chick; its first attempt in 2019 failed due to insufficient evidence.
In 2016, the B.C. Supreme Court ordered Chick and his wife, Jean-Jean Lee, after a university investigation revealed that Chick was illegally practicing acupuncture at a private residence on Colville Road. A permanent restraining order was issued.
Under the Health Professions Act, only university registrants are permitted to practice TCM and acupuncture.
Chick applied to the university in 2000 to register as a Chinese medicine practitioner, but was denied registration.
According to the petition filed by the university on May 15, Chick is barred from reapplying until 2003 because he submitted “false graduation certificates and transcripts under sworn affidavit.”
Chick did not reapply for registration, the university said in its petition, adding that it has no record of Chick being registered with any other regulatory agency in British Columbia.
In a 2016 trial, it was revealed that Chick had been running a home clinic as far back as 2004. As a result, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge issued a permanent injunction barring Chick from providing any Chinese medicine or acupuncture services until he registers with the university.
Neighbors and customers complain about illegal clinic: Traditional Chinese Medicine Regulatory Authority
According to the petition, the university received a voicemail from someone claiming to be Chick’s neighbor who lives on Colville Street, claiming to have seen as many as 15 cars arrive at Chick’s home, and providing details of the vehicles. .
The university then contracted with Paladin Risk Solutions, which had investigated previous complaints against the university about Chick, to conduct monitoring of Chick throughout August 2023.
The university cited an affidavit from a Paladin investigator who said investigators observed Chick arrive at the Lansdowne Center in the early hours of the morning and repeatedly toss plastic bags into a trash can. When investigators retrieved the bags, they found contents including acupuncture needles, injection instructions and an empty box of dexamethasone sodium phosphate, the investigators said.
The petition also cites a complaint filed in March 2024 from a person who claims to have received acupuncture treatment at Chick’s home.
According to the plaintiff, she went to Chick’s home four times for treatment, paying $30 cash each time. She said six needles were inserted into her back during each of her treatments, and two of the needles “felt like they were injecting me with something,” she wrote in her petition.
During her last visit, the complainant allegedly recorded the therapy session because she was “concerned about what was being inserted into her back,” and when she reviewed the recording, she saw Tic “pierce her skin twice and inject an unknown substance.”
A copy of the video and two screenshots were then submitted to the university as part of her complaint, the complaint states.
“There is no question that the defendants were aware and understood the 2016 injunction but willfully failed to comply with its terms,” the university wrote, adding that if Chick is allowed to continue practicing, , added that there was a “risk of harm” to the public.
Pointing to the “volume of materials discarded” by Chick, the university argues that “it is consistent only with a large-scale, sustained practice.”
“There is no evidence or reasonable suggestion that Defendants are using the materials for anything other than the practice of TCM/Acupuncture,” the petition reads.
The university added that Chick’s actions were “inconsistent with normal human experience” and that the timing and location of the dump “we expect to be monitored and, as in 2019, He claimed that this was a sign that he did not want his garbage to be confiscated.
“Such covert actions suggest individuals who are aware that their actions are illegal,” the university wrote.
The university is seeking to find Chick in contempt and is asking for him to be jailed for 45 days and/or to be fined “significantly.”
The university concluded that the conviction was just and appropriate, arguing that Chick was “not subject to any regulatory oversight” and that the conduct he was accused of was “not an isolated incident.”
The university is also seeking special fees.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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